Plastic or premium product? Bundesliga restart not simple to assess

The politicians have agreed, the conditions have been negotiated – from Saturday the Bundesliga and second division play once more to herald the resumption of football in Germany.

But the Borussia Dortmund v Schalke derby will not look anything like the traditional Ruhr classic and Bayern Munich’s first-ever league visit to Union Berlin will hardly be the glamour occasion previously anticipated by the good citizens of Koepenick.

Restarting as soon as safely possible has been the stated goal of the majority within football since the coronavirus outbreak halted the league in March. The pros and cons of resuming in such a format follow.

PROS

A premium product despite empty stands: The World Cup final from 2014, classic victories on team websites – fans have not been totally without football in the last two months but everyone knew the final score in advance. Even with empty seats surrounding the pitch, the anticipation of a sporting contest could bring a bit of normality back to the lives of millions.

Water cooler chat:  At home, on the telephone or at work, the coronavirus has dominated conversations for months and robbed people of other topics. “Did you see that game at the weekend?” would be a welcome change and the banality of arguing over goals, refereeing decisions and championships will be a pleasant distraction to many concerned about job security, nursery places and social restrictions.

A role model for others: The Bundesliga hygiene concept could be a blueprint for other leagues around Europe to follow and potentially lead the way for other sports or industries to return. Aleksander Ceferin, president of European football governing body UEFA, called the Bundesliga a “shining example” for how to bring football back into the lives of people across the continent.

CONS

A plastic product played in laboratory Satirical magazine Extra 3 described the resumption: “In stadiums no fan can enter, players who have hardly trained will play for a pay television broadcaster that almost no one can watch and can only be seen in pubs which are closed.” There will be no town square celebration for the title winners, no cheering fans when goals are scored in games played in near silence. Even German Football League chief Christian Seifert admits it is “the absolute emergency operation.”

Atmosphere like on the moon: The first closed door game, shortly before the suspension, has not set a high standard. Borussia Moenchengladbach and Cologne players, not to mention the referee, reported a strange 90 minutes. It will now become even more surreal with those on the bench required to wear facemasks and maintain social distance while the match ball is occasionally disinfected. The impression could soon arise that the sport is going through the motions of completing the season simply to ensure television money keeps flowing: “We have no seat at the table, we were not consulted,” Union Berlin defender Neven Subotic told German radio.

Read also: Toyota expects 79.5 per cent drop in annual profit due to pandemic

Bizarre rules: “I hope that the players think of everything and even practice coronavirus celebrations – obviously with distance, if possible, because you should try to avoid physical contact,” Seifert told the Bild paper about goal celebrations. No passion, no joy, no fun when scoring goals makes sense in isolation but seems ridiculous when contrasted with the close body contact required throughout the 90 minutes to play the game in the first place. (dpa)